Automatic control arrangement for spooling drives



A- MULLER AUTOMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING DRIVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 29, 1966 Filed June 1.7, 1964 Nov. 29, 1966 U R 3,288,383

AUTQMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING DRIVES Filed June 17, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A MULLER Nov. 29, 1966 AUTOMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING IVES Filed June 17, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A- MULLER Nov. 29, 1966 AUTOMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING DRIVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June L7, 1964 United States Patent 3,288,383 AUTOMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING DRIVES Artur Miiller, Karlsruhe, Germany, assignor to Industrie- Werke Karlsruhe Aktiengesellschaft, Karlsruhe, German y Filed June 17, 1964, Ser. No. 375,758

7 tClaims. (Cl. 24245) The present invention relates to an automatic control arrangement for spooling drives, especially with spooling spinning machines, in which the bobbin core is driven by means of a control motor. The spooling or wind ng up of synthetic threads is generally effected by friction inasmuch as the bobbin is driven by engagement with a driving roller rotating at constant speed. The accelerating work during the engagement of the bobbin with the driving roller and the required winding-up work is conveyed via the bobbin surface.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic control arrangement for spooling or winding drives which, over heretofore known arrangements of the type involved, will increase the precision of the withdrawing speed of the synthetic thread being Wound.

It is another object of this invention to provide a control arrangement as set forth in the preceding paragraph in which the proper function of the speed control during the spooling or winding operation may be observed in a sure and simple manner.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an automatic control arrangement as set forth above, which will for all practical purposes exclude any heating of the control roller or the cylinder of the control roller to thereby permit the production of large and highly satisfactory laps.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an automatic control arrangement for spooling drives, especially for spooling s inning machines, which will permit the employment of a reluctance motor of any standard des1gn.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic control arrangement as set forth in the preceding paragraph, which will make it possible to select the diameter of the control roller without considering the dimensions of the reluctance motor so that the diameter of the control roller may be selected primarily under consideration of the optimum conditions with regard to the spooling operation.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 diagrammatically illustrates a side view of a spooling or winding machine according to the invention with the entire bobbin drive and control arrangement;

FIGURE 2 diagrammatically illustrates a front view of a winding station of a spooling machine with the bobbin holder, control roller and traversing housing as seen from the side;

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic front view of a winding station showing from the side a bobbin of increasing diameter and a corresponding displacement of the control roller;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the electric bobbin driving and controlling device according to the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a control circuit of the electric system of the control arrangement according to the present invention.

The automatic control arrangement for spooling drives, especially for use in connection with spooling machines according to the present invention, is characterized primarily in that the control roller is motor driven and in that, in response to the circumferential speeds of the thread winding bobbin and of the control roller respectively differing from each other, the amount of rotation of the control roller shaft serves as control factor for the motor driving the thread winding bobbin.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate a spooling or winding machine 1 in which a thread 3 withdrawn from a spinning head or lap 2 passes over a stationary thread guide 4 which holds the thread against the running surface of a moistening disc 5. From here the thread is passed over a second stationary thread guide 6 which latter holds the thread against the running surface of a preparing disc 7. Discs 5 and 7 have a portion thereof continuously immersed in liquid-containing bowls 8 and 9 respectively. Subsequently, thread 3 is passed over a lower deflection roller 10 and an upper deflection roller 11 to a third thread guide 12 which is slidably guided in the thread of a reversing thread roller 13. Finally the thread is passed to a winding bobbin 14 supported by a bobbin holder 15.

FIG. 1 illustrates the entire bobbin driving and control arrangement in the lower portion of the machine. As will be seen from FIG. 1, bobbin holder 15 is, through a shaft 16, drivingly connected with a motor 17 which preferably is a direct current motor. Bobbin holder 15 or when the latter carries a Winding bobbin, the surface 14 of the winding bobbin, is engaged at a certain pressure by a control roller 18 which through the intervention of a shaft 19 is drivingly connected to a control roller motor 20. Above the control roller 18 there is arranged a traversing housing 21, in which the reversing thread roller 13 is arranged. Roller 13 is rotated for moving thread guide 12 back and. forth in order to produce a precision Winding. The rotative movement of roller 13 is effected by drive motor 17 which, through the intervention of a change gear transmission 23 including gears and toothed belts, drives a shaft 22 which latter is drivingly connected to roller 13. Control roller 18 with control roller motor 20 and the traversing housing 21 with reversing thread roller 13 and thread guide 12 are mounted. on a bobbin carriage 24 which is slidably guided by parallel guiding means, for instance in the form of parallel rods 25 (FIGS. 1 and 2). This carriage sliding on the parallel bars 25 permits the pressure exerted by the ever-increasing cop diameter upon the control roller 18 to move the carriage with the parts thereon in a direction away from the cop until an abutment 26 arranged at the rear side of the bobbin carriage 24 engages a limit switch 27 which latter in response to the said engagement indicates the time at which a bobbin change has to be effected (FIGS. 2 and 3). The above mentioned pressure exerted by the control roller 18 upon the cop surface 14 is maintained constant by the fact that a rope or cable 28 is connected to the bobbin carriage 24 and passes over a pulley 29 while having a weight 30 (FIGS. 2 and 4) connected to the free end of said rope or cable.

In comformity with the present invention, an electrical arrangement is provided which, contrary to heretofore known friction roller drives employed in this connection, directly drives the bobbin holder 15 by means of drive motor 17. Control motor 20 drives control roller 18 engaging bobbin holder 15 or cop surface 14.

For purposes of more clearly indicating the free displaceability of the bobbin slide 24 on the parallel bars 25, a simplified illustration has been selected in FIG. 4 in which the parallel bars 25 have been omitted. Instead, merely for purposes of illustrating the principle of displaceability of the bearing support 46, for the control motor 20 and the bearing support 47 with the thread guide 12, these bearing supports have been shown as being displaceably arranged on rollers 46 adapted freely to roll on the plate 49. It is to be understood that this simplified illustration is merely diagrammatically to indicate the displaceability of the bobbin slide 24.

Referring now to FIG. 5 illustrating a control diagram for use in connection with the arrangement of the present invention, it will be noted that the machine is supplied with current through a transformer unit which comprises a drive motor 33, a transmission 34 which may be a gear transmission or an infinitely variable transmission of any standard design. Transmission 34 makes it possible to adjust the bobbin machine to the desired winding speed. Transmission 34 is drivingly connected to a generator 35, preferably a three phase generator, which in its turn feeds the driving motorreluctance motorsfor the deflection rollers and 11 and also drives an infinitely variable transmission 36 which conveys its movement to a generator 31. Transmission 36 serves for creating a running ahead or a lagging behind of the thread between the deflection rollers 10 and 11 on one hand and. the spooling station proper on the other hand. Generator 31 feeds the motors of the individual bobbin stations, said motors comprising the bobbin drive motor 17 and the control roller motors 20. Motor 17, which preferably is a direct current motor, receives its voltage through a rectifier 37. This motor 17 has two exciting windings 38 and 39. The winding 38 is excited at a constant value, the winding 39 is excited through the intervention of an adjusting member 40 via control means 41. Important in this connection is the fact that the stator of the control roller motor 20 is rotatably journalled.

The stator is adapted to rotate by, for instance 360 and conveys its rotation through a collector ring or sliding wiper to a potentiometer 32.

At the starting of the spooling operation, i.e. when the diameter of the cop to be formed has its minimum value, the exciting current for the exciting winding 39 is zero because the slide of the potentiometer 32 occupies its lefthand position with regard to the drawing. When the cop has reached its maximum diameter, the exciting current will have reached its maximum value. The slide of the potentiometer 32 will then occupy its right-hand position.

The function of the control operation during the spooling action is checked by an additional arrangement of two switches 42 and 43 which are adapted to close the circuit for a bulb 44 when the stator of the control roller motor 20 occupies one of its two possible end positions which are identical to the above mentioned end positions of the potentiometer, i.e. left exciting current zero (minimum value) and right exciting current at its maximum value. When the circuit for bulb 44 is closed during the spooling operation so that the bulb lights up, this lighting up will indicate a disorder in the control arrangement. Limit switch 27 will, by lighting up of a bulb 45 indicate that the desired diameter of cop 14 has been obtained.

The speed control of each bobbin station starts with the lowest load of control roller motor 20 on shaft 19. In this way, a reaction torque and thus a rotative movement is imparted upon the stator. When the rotor on shaft 19 is braked, the stator will be rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor. When accelerating the rotor speed by shaft 19, the stator will be turned in the same direction of rotation as the rotor. If the rotor is mechanically not loaded, the stator will not carry out a rotative movement because no torque is required from the motor which means that no reaction torque can occur. Consequently, the stator remains in its respective position. When cop 14 is engaged by control roller 18, a reaction torque is effected through the frictional engagement between cop surface 14 and control roller 13 when the circumferential speeds of control roller and pop surface 14 differ from each other.

If the circumferential speed of the bobbin is to high, in other words, if the bobbin drive motor 17 runs too fast, it will be appreciated that due to the friction between cop 14 and control roller 18, a torque is imparted upon cont-rol roller 20 in such a direction that the control roller speed change will have the tendency to increase the control roller speed. In this way, the stator of the control roller motor 20 will be rotated in a direction of the rotation of the control roller shaft and slide 32a of the potentiometer 32 will be relatively adjusted. By means of the circuit shown in FIG. 5, the potentiometer 32 affects control means 41 so that the control member 40 will increase the exciting current of the exciting winding 39. As a result thereof, the speed of the bobbin drive motor 17 will be reduced.

If the circumferential speed of the bobbin becomes too low, which means that the bobbin drive motor runs at too low a speed, the friction between cop surface 14 and control roller 18 imparts upon the control roller motor a torque in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the control roller shaft which torque will have the tendency to reduce the speed of the control roller. In this way, the stator is rotated in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the control roller shaft, and the slide of the potentiometer 32 will be adjusted toward the other side. In view of the circuit arrangement, the control means 41 and the control member 40 bring about a reduction in the exciting current, and the speed of rotation of the exciting winding 39 of the bobbin motor 17 will be increased.

As will be evident from the above, a spooling machine according to the present invention yields a maximum precision of the predetermined spooling speed which has to be kept constant on all spooling stations of a machine. At the same time, the individual threads are treated with the greatest care during the spooling operation while it is possible to produce cops of large dimensions with a precision winding and of uniform quality. A precision winding is characterized by the fact that the traversing speed and the bobbin speed will, during the spooling ope-ration, have maintained a certain relationship.

The advantages of the precision winding over customary cross winding (chance winding or wild" winding) are seen primarily in the greater winding density and thus in the greater yarn carrying capacity per cop and in the better cop buildup. Moreover, cops with precision winding have better unwinding properties for the further processing of the yarn and can also be unwound at higher speeds. The production of these qualitatively better cops is obtained by the fundamental arrangement of the central determination of the withdrawing speed on all spooling stations and by the particular electric control of the bobbin driving motors in conformity with the present invention. The central determination of the withdrawing speed is effected by means of the frequency of the generator 31 for the control roller motors which frequency is precisely adjustable by the fine control transmission 36. Inasmuch as the motors 20 of the control rollers 18 are designed as reluctance motors and consequently rotate synchronously with the frequency of the generator 31, all control rollers 18 impart the same winding speed upon a machine for the circumferential speed of all cops 14, regardless of the respective diameter of the cops.

The individual control arrangement of each single bobbin station respectively controls the speed of the drive motor of each bobbin. This control arrangement according to FIGS. 4 and 5 is a uniform control inasmuch as each position of the stator of the control roller motor 20 has associated therewith a certain position of the slide of the potentiometer 32 and thus a certain speed of the bobbin drive motor 17. When the slide of the potentiometer occupies its left-hand position, drive motor 17 of cop 14 rotates at high speed, whereas motor 17 rotates at a low speed when the slide occupies its righthand position. It will be appreciated that the adjusting range of the potentiometer corresponds to the speed difference to be controlled between the empty bobbin sleeve and the full bobbin sleeve. This speed difference will, depending on the desired cop size, approximately amount to from two to four times the speed of rotation of the empty bobbin sleeve. When sudden changes in load occur or if disturbances are encountered caused, for instance by variations in the voltage at the bobbin motor, the speed of the bobbin drive motor will be proportionally changed in conformity with the magnitude of the angle of rotation of the stator of the control roller motor. In this way, a change in the circumferential speed of the bobbin is quickly taken care of. Since with the arrangement according to the present invention, as stated above, each position of the stator of the control roller motor has associated a certain speed of rotation ofthe winding motor, it will be appreciated that the stator of the control roller motor will remain in an end position of the angular adjusting range associated therewith, when the control means is no longer in a position to adjust the bobbin drive motor to the circumferential speed imparted upon the control roller. As mentioned above, limit switches in the two end positions (lowest speed and highest speed) report on the panel of the machine control disturbed. The operator will then realize that the material wound on the bobbin is to be considered as reject and has to be removed. In View of this simple check of the proper functioning of the control arrangement, post-checking of the titer of the cops will be superfiuous.

Finally, it may also be mentioned that a further advantage of the structural separation of control roller and control motor in conformity with the present invention is to be seen in the employment of a reluctance motor of standard design.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic control arrangement for spooling drives, especially of spooling spinning machines, which includes: a thread winding bobbin, a bobbin driving motor drivingly connected to said bobbin for rotating the same, a control roller, means operatively connected to said control roller and continuously urging the same toward said bobbin for frictional engagement with the surface of a cop being formed on said bobbin, motor means for driving said control roller at a desired speed and having a rotor connected to said roller and also having a stator means rotatably supporting a stator, and a potentiometer having a stationary part and also having moveble part connected to said stator so that movements of said stator on its support will adjust said potentiometer, 5

said potentiometer being connected in circuit with said bobbin driving motor for substantially continuously ad- 6 justing the speed of said bobbin driving motor in response to a difference in the circumferential speed of said control roller and of the cop being formed on said bobbin.

2. An automatic control arrangement for spooling drives, especially of spooling spinning machines, which includes: a thread winding bobbin, a bobbin driving motor drivingly connected to said bobbin for rotating the same, a control roller, means operatively connected to said control roller and continuously urging the same toward said bobbin for frictional engagement with the surface of a cop being formed on said bobbin, motor means for driving said control roller at a desired speed, said motor means including a stator turnable over a certain angle, said motor means also including a rotor, rotatable shaft means rotatably interconnecting said roller and said rotor, potentiometer means having a first member in the form of circularly arranged winding means and also having a second member in the form of a slide for cooperation with said winding means, one of said members being stationary and the other one of said members being connected to said stator for turning movement therewith, and exciting Winding means pertaining to said bobbin driving motor and electrically connected to said potentiometer means for adjusting said bobbin driving motor in conformity with the turning movement of said stator.

3. An arrangement according to claim 2, in which said certain angle is about 360.

4. An arrangement according to claim 2, in which said slide is stationary and in which said circularly arranged winding means is connected to said stator.

5. An arrangement according to claim 2, in which said bobbin driving motor is a direct current motor having a plurality of exciting windings the energization of at least one of which is variable.

6. An arrangement according to claim 2, which includes signalling means responsive to said stator occupying either one of its two end positions.

7. An arrangement according to claim 2, in which said means operatively connected to said control roller includes a carriage supporting said control roller and provided with abutment means adapted in response to a cop on said bobbin having reached a desired diameter to close a signalling circuit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,950,067 8/ 1960 Keith 242-48 3,081,958 3/1963 Kegg 242-57 FOREIGN PATENTS 944,552 12/1963 Great Britain. 335,982 3 1959 Switzerland.

FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

MERVIN STEIN, W. S. BURDEN, Assistant Examiners. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR SPOOLING DRIVES, ESPECIALLY OF SPOOLING SPINNING MACHINES, WHICH INCLUDES: A THREAD WINDING BOBBIN, A BOBBIN DRIVING MOTOR DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID BOBBIN FOR ROTATING THE SAME, A CONTROL ROLLER, MEANS OPERATIVLEY CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL ROLLER AND CONTINUOUSLY URGING THE SAME TOWARD SAID BOBBIN FOR FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SURFACE OF A COP BEING FORMED ON SAID BOBBIN, MOTOR MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CONTROL ROLLER AT A DESIRED SPEED AND HAVING A ROTOR CONNECTED TO SAID ROLLER AND ALSO HAVING A STATOR MEANS ROTATBLY SUPPORTING A STATOR, AND A POTENTIOMETER HAVING A STATIONARY PART AND ALSO HAVING MOVEBLE PART CONNECTED TO SAID STATOR SO THAT MOVEMENTS OF SAID STATOR ON ITS SUPPORT WILL ADJUST SAID POTENTIOMETER, SAID POTENTIOMETER BEING CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT WITH SAID BOBBIN DRIVING MOTOR FOR SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY ADJUSTING THE SPEED OF SAID BOBBIN DRIVING MOTOR IN RESPONSE TO A DIFFERENCE IN THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SPEED OF SAID CONTROL ROLLER AND OF THE COP BEING FORMED ON SAID BOBBIN. 